West Bloomfield Small Business Has Global Reach Online

Tucked into a corner of the Yorktown Executive Offices building on Maple Road in West Bloomfield is a small business with a world-wide reach. 

Stu Carlin says his company, MachineTools.com, links buyers and sellers of metalworking machines from around the world. In fact, his is the largest business of its kind, with more than 40,000 listings and a database of more than 163,000 machine models that grows daily. 

"It's a huge industry," said Carlin, a West Bloomfield resident. "Even companies in other industries have machine shops in their plants." 

Carlin's business doesn't get involved in transactions and does not take a commission on sales. Instead, MachineTools.com charges $10 per month for each machine listed. Some remain on the site for a couple of years, because of their size, he added. 

Over the past 14 years, the site has developed a base of business-to-business clients who come back because they trust the site, Carlin said. In all that time, he has had to deal with only five cases of fraud. 

The recent move to Yorktown coincides with a major website overhaul. The company employs 15 people; 10 work off-site and five on-site. They all get together for an annual company meeting and monthly lunches.

An entrepreneur since childhood, Carlin said his off-site workers are located all across the state, from Benton Harbor to Rochester Hills. 

"I really like hiring people from Michigan," he said. "I want to help Michigan grow." 

Carlin has another online company, Ann Arbor-based Anglerweb, a compendium of fishing spots, guides and lodges and fishing reports.